Dr. Jofin George, assistant professor at IIITH’s Earthquake Engineering Research Center fell in love with structural engineering, inspired by stone arch bridges forged by natural elements and ancient monuments. He studies how masonry structures behave, the statics, kinematics of structural systems and its optimization for evolving design philosophies.
In the early hours of March 26th 2024, a complete power outage on container ship Dali had catastrophic consequences, when the vessel rammed into a pylon of the Baltimore bridge, bringing down the iconic metal structure like a pack of cards, in a matter of minutes. The tragedy would ignite many conversations, including at IIITH’s Earthquake Engineering Research Center (EERC) where Jofin works in the domain of seismic assessment of structures, among other topics.
“One of my core areas of research has been the assessment of existing infrastructure, including masonry arch bridges and historical monuments”, explains the civil engineer. Prior to joining IIITH’s EERC as assistant professor, Jofin was a postdoctoral researcher at IIT Madras’ National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures. A Ph.D in Structural Engineering from IIT Madras, he completed his M.Tech from IIT Hyderabad. For the past three years, Jofin has been a Reviewer of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Bridge Engineering, and Advances in Structural Engineering Journal.
Embracing a path less travelled
“There was a mistaken notion amongst my people in Kerala that you don’t have to sit in front of a computer if you took up civil engineering”, chuckles Jofin who completed his schooling from Malappuram’s St. Paul’s E.M.H.S.S. After his B.Tech in civil engineering from Trivandrum’s College of Engineering, he worked as part-time faculty at a private engineering college in Kozhikode while preparing for GATE. “I chose structural engineering for my M. Tech at IIT Hyderabad because it was the hot subject at the time”, observes the recipient of MHRD scholarships through his doctoral and post-doctoral research tenures.
Realizing that he had a clear aptitude for research, Jofin decided to pursue his Ph. D from IIT Madras where he would work on heritage and historical structures, in South India and abroad. “Among the railway bridges that we studied, two were masonry arch bridges in Tamil Nadu’s Katpadi district that were found to be in distress”. Along with his Ph. D mentor, he guided a field team that identified critical issues and suggested remedial measures. In Sept. 2021, he joined IIT Madras’ National Centre for Safety of Heritage Structures as a post-doctoral researcher.
“One particularly interesting project that I consider a milestone in my journey, was a collaboration with US-based Getty Conservation Institute”, recalls Jofin. It was the study of a UNESCO World Heritage site at Bagan, Myanmar. The area consisted of around 3000 Buddhist monuments, dating back to 1000-AD and was located in an earthquake sensitive area. “I was lucky to be part of the team working on the assessment of these structures. I actually got to formulate an analytical method from first principles to ensure their structural safety. The project was reviewed in Portugal by pre-eminent European professors, pegged as pioneers in the domain. Just about the time when my post-doctoral work was drawing to a close, I took up the role in IIIT Hyderabad. I am so happy that it has been one seamless continuous journey to the Institute”.
Rocks, Papers and hopefully no scissors
Jofin’s specialization in structural health monitoring and development of design philosophies has been inspired by Nature. Jofin who has co-authored 8 publications says, “I am now focusing on computational mechanics, the inspiration for which came from the natural arches at the Arches National Park in Utah. These naturally formed funicular structures in rock have a perfect geometry”.
One very interesting project at IIT Madras was on Shake table testing of pillared historical stone constructions (mandapam) of South India. “We commissioned a Sthapati to build a mandapam of the actual structure on the table, where researchers could apply real accelerations. The paper has been published and it’s been an interesting work, rarely done in our country”.
A mechanism-based assessment framework for masonry arch bridges under scour-induced support rotation was one of the general papers as part of his Ph. D thesis. “I made use of the critical geometrical parameters, and formulated a method where you can actually predict the mechanism by which arch bridges will collapse, due to scouring imparted by flash floods”, he notes.
Stepping away to step up
Born to an academic couple, Jofin’s parents were both teachers who hailed from Kottayam in Kerala but moved to Malappuram because of their teaching appointments.
“My parents were a huge influence and they always believed that I’d make a good teacher someday. My mother was in fact my first Guru and mentor”, he remembers. Her day would begin at the crack of dawn and the way she navigated her different roles as mother, teacher and family member would be a huge inspiration for the youngster. Jofin got married to Krishna, also a structural engineer, in 2018 during his Ph. D tenure.
Jofin hates flying but loves road trips. “Those trips between Chennai and my hometown, passing green countryside are specially etched memories”. Along the way, he became an amateur photographer, thanks to a cousin, who introduced him to “a different part of the world with no concrete jungles and with a very rich biodiversity. My wife is a beach person but is still happy to detach and visit the unexplored parts of Kerala. Both of us now enjoy exploring the best of Hyderabad, especially the multiple cuisines and flavors”, he adds gratefully.
Binge watching dark thriller-mysteries on OTT platforms is his cup of tea. “Depending on my mood, I listen to music, both regional and western, as a way to disconnect”. It is hip-hop for road trips and soothing melodies when he walks home from college. Jofin played cricket during his under-grad days, that changed to football during his Masters, thanks to his peers. The occasional half-hour constitutional walk is his ‘aspirational’ fitness regimen.
“Being a regular 9 am – 6pm guy is something that has really helped me balance my professional goals and personal life”, observes Jofin. “I feel that a break is essential for your well-being. My doctoral guide Prof. Arun Menon taught me that your Ph. D life is about training; not about what you have studied but about work-life balance and managing multiple things related to your work. What we typically do is put in the hours continuously and get too attached to the project. Step away from the problem. Take time away to travel, speak to someone, refresh and come back and that will multiply your productivity”, he advises.
Inspired by the past, to build for the future
“IIIT Hyderabad has a beautiful campus and I can confidently say that it is one of the best places in the country, at this point. In terms of academic freedom, you are on your own and if you want to do good research, there is nothing stopping you!”, observes the scholar.
He credits Prof. Sunitha Palissery and thanks Prof. Ramancharla Pradeep Kumar for smoothening his transition from researcher to a good teacher. “I teach five courses including structural safety of existing infrastructure, Bridge Engineering, disaster management and finite element method”, reports Jofin. He is guiding a Ph. D scholar, using advanced techniques to understand the behavior of funicular geometries. They are formulating an analytical method to quantify three-dimensional collapse, that should eventually result in computationally efficient software. On the cards is a collaboration with NCSHS team and Prof. Rehana’s Hydroclimatic Research Group for ensure safety of arch bridges that are vulnerable to floods. Jofin is also a structural consultant for Tamara Leisure experiences, in multiple projects including the design of a floating pontoon jetty in the backwaters of Alappuzha, Kerala.
“You know, the Baltimore Bridge collapsing like a pack of cards, put the spotlight on the need to introduce redundancy and the importance of structural health monitoring”, notes Jofin. In this age of structural steel and reinforced concrete bridges, there is need for masonry arch bridges with added structural safety. “With the global push towards sustainability, this shift towards sustainable structures needs to happen. About 55% of carbon emissions comes from the construction industry. Reinforced concrete and steel structures will become rubble that will stay with us forever. “What we need are sustainable engineering solutions”, he observes. “From this perspective, historical monuments such as masonry arch bridges, Nagara and Dravidian style temples, Baroque, Gothic, Indo-Gothic style churches, and Mughal style mosques offer valuable insights. Their robust geometries, when combined with modern reinforcing techniques, could inspire new design philosophies and guide the future of structural engineering. I think that is the direction that structural engineering will be compelled to move”.